It’s her brand and you know it.
Come on, admit it. In the deepest recess of your heart of hearts you know that is true even if you were the number 1 fan of KP. It has been her brand since the beginning of her career, as Katy Perry that is, not the innocent gospel-rock wunderkind that was Katy Hudson. Right now, it’s safe to say that Katy Perry is more of a media maven then say, Kelly Cutrone.
Come on, admit it. In the deepest recess of your heart of hearts you know that is true even if you were the number 1 fan of KP. It has been her brand since the beginning of her career, as Katy Perry that is, not the innocent gospel-rock wunderkind that was Katy Hudson. Right now, it’s safe to say that Katy Perry is more of a media maven then say, Kelly Cutrone.
Since her emergence as
Katy Perry, she has kept the theme of her music au courant, the only difference
being whether they were hits or misses. For example, the track ‘You’re So Gay’
courted controversy for being homophobic but simultaneously created enough buzz to her name. She followed it with the homoerotic number ‘I Kissed A Girl’
which officially catapulted her to instant stardom and somewhat cleared her of the initial faux pas.
Her following singles
were all genuine hits, from One of the Boys,
her first album as Katy Perry, follow-up Teenage
Dream (which produced the earworm 'Teenage Dream') to her third, somewhat
shaky LP Prism. Be it ballads or
feet-thumpers, her tracks kept fans on their toes and garnered some new
admirers as well. She was a bit cuckoo but that’s okay because she meant well.
Because come on, how could she have any ill intentions after such an uplifting
and all-accepting track like ‘Firework’ right?
The Prism era was when Katy Perry’s image as this new bold tongue-in-cheek popstar began to crack. The lead single ‘Roar’ brought with it hope – yes, the new queen of pop who truly cares about us has returned. Unfortunately, the subsequent singles did not live up to the hype and positivity of the animalistic lead track. It’s not say they were total duds, but somehow the catchy factor of previous KP songs were not there anymore.
Of course, it did not
help that her once whimsical music videos (who could forget
the capriciousness of ‘Waking Up In Vegas’, the sugar rush of ‘California
Gurls’ – the track which was plainly revealed to have been inspired by Jay-Z
and Alicia Key’s monster ‘New York’ – and the inspiring ‘Firework’) were
beginning to become controversial. The emvee for ‘This Is How We Do’ was bashed
for appropriating black culture by showing KP wearing cornrows and
her shouldn’t-have-existed baby hair.
Even her live
performances were not without trouble; she was found guilty by the court of
public opinion for cultural appropriation when she performed her Prism track ‘Unconditionally’ in a
kimono-cheongsam combo at the 2013 American Music Awards. Nonetheless, it was
but one remiss amongst her many successful performances as she was still
well-known for being a remarkable performer (with the necessary vocal chops to boot)
and going as far as clinching the halftime show at the 2015 Super Bowl, which
kept her relevant in between albums.
Fast forward to 2017,
the mother of Katy Kats is back with her fourth LP, Witness. Again not one to
shy away from a good stunt opportunity, she went all the way with the theme –
the single eye that appears throughout the creatives in perhaps as an allusion
to the Illuminati-affiliated Eye of Providence, the four-day live stream on
Youtube inviting everyone to play ‘witness’ to her everyday life and the short blonde
pixie cut which, of course, she used to her benefit by making Britney Spears
mental breakdown references.
Musically, Witness has been a let-down, with
various industry pundits being polarised with their criticism of the album.
Unlike Rihanna who is arguably more a singles superstar than an LP one,
Katy Perry is recognised for having delivered entirely solid albums in the
past.
Her music videos from the latest album have
also become unimpressive, one shows a visit to a sci-fi theme park, the other
to a cannibalistic restaurant while another appropriates the ball culture while
igniting a feud at the same time. It doesn’t help that KP really seems to have
lost her mind as well, her performances erratic and her interviews downright
bizarre (case in point: Carpool Karaoke with James Corden).
A well-oiled pop machine, Katy Perry most definitely plays her part well – she
keeps everything bright and vibrant to capture everyone’s short
attention span. However, if her slow but steady declination is any indication,
it appears that KP’s strategy may be slowly falling apart ten years after her
debut. It actually appears that people (including her fans) are growing tired
of her antics.
Her latest music video
for the mediocre track ‘Hey Hey Hey’ also keeps it current – it addresses the
huge sex scandals that are rocking Hollywood right now. Although the popstar
herself has not publicly said anything about the issue (even though Ellen
caught some KP-related flak recently), she sends a message via her emvee, in
which a bold and powerful woman (wearing a single eye armour (?)) fights back
against her male oppressor after constant sexual harassment. Now, is she really sending a message? Or is it just
another elaborately-designed ploy to stay relevant?
Through all of this if there’s a takeaway it’s this – Katy Perry can definitely sing. However, if you’re asking, has Katy Perry truly found her footing in the music scene? Well, the truth is she has – it’s gimmick through and through – but here’s where it gets problematic: the carpet is being pulled from under her as we speak and she needs to find a new gimmick quick; one that is not predictable nor problematic.
P/s: Russell Brand
who?
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